COVID-19 the showdown for mass casualty preparedness and management: the Cassandra Syndrome

Coccolini, Federico; Sartelli, Massimo; Kluger, Yoram; Pikoulis, Emmanouil; Karamagioli, Evika; Moore, Ernest E.; Biffl, Walter L.; Peitzman, Andrew; Hecker, Andreas; Chirica, Mircea; Damaskos, Dimitrios; Ordonez, Carlos; Vega, Felipe; Fraga, Gustavo P.; Chiarugi, Massimo; Di Saverio, Salomone; Kirkpatrick, Andrew W.; Abu-Zidan, Fikri; Mefire, Alain Chicom; Leppaniemi, Ari; Khokha, Vladimir; Sakakushev, Boris; Catena, Rodolfo; Coimbra, Raul; Ansaloni, Luca; Corbella, Davide; Catena, Fausto

Since December 2019, the world is potentially facing one of the most difficult infectious situations of the last decades. COVID-19 epidemic warrants consideration as a mass casualty incident (MCI) of the highest nature. An optimal MCI/disaster management should consider all four phases of the so-called disaster cycle: mitigation, planning, response, and recovery. COVID-19 outbreak has demonstrated the worldwide unpreparedness to face a global MCI. This present paper thus represents a call for action to solicitate governments and the Global Community to actively start effective plans to promote and improve MCI management preparedness in general, and with an obvious current focus on COVID-19.